LINCOLN, Neb. — Sophomore
Ashlie Stokes' (Sioux City,
Iowa/Sioux City North) goal in the 66th minute (65:22) propelled the Drake
women's soccer team to a 1-0 road shutout over Nebraska on Sunday (Aug. 19).
The victory marked the first time the Bulldogs have begun a campaign at
2-0 since 2003, while also representing the first-ever triumph over the Huskers
in five meetings between the schools.
Drake also garnered only the third win versus a team from the Big Ten
Conference in program history and first since downing Iowa, 1-0, during the
2004 campaign.
"This afternoon we put together a fantastic performance," Drake
head coach Lindsey Horner commented. "We were hard working,
disciplined, and when we got a chance we made the most of it. This team
has a lot of potential and today was a snapshot of what we can accomplish when
we perform near our potential."
The two sides had waged a scoreless battle until Stokes registered her
second goal of the season striking a ball from 30 yards out that hit the
crossbar before falling in behind Nebraska goalkeeper Emma Stevens.
Nebraska collected a 13-8 advantage in shots in the affair, including 7-4
in shots on goal.
Stokes led the Bulldogs with a game-high five shots, while freshman Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue
Valley North) added two shots. The
Huskers were directed by a team-best four-shot effort from Caroline Flynn.
Junior Kalena Litch
(Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) pulled in a game-high seven saves in the contest for
Drake en route to recording her 12th career shutout. With her third save of the contest, Litch surpassed Kate
Stack (230 saves, 2002-04) and moved into second place in career saves at
Drake. Stevens recorded three
saves for the Huskers.
"Ashlie
Stokes' finish was big time and Kalena Litch came up huge twice for us to preserve
the lead and the shutout," said Horner. "Those two players will show up
in the stats sheet, but really it took everyone on our bench to get this win.
Our subs provided us with a spark and kept the level of play high. As a staff,
we are excited to gain momentum from this for intense training this week
leading into this weekends' games."
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Aug. 24) with a 7:00 p.m. tilt
at SIU Edwardsville.
